College student allegedly raped, set on fire in Uttar Pradesh

Etawah: In Uttar Pradesh, which has reported several horrific assaults on young girls in the last few days, a college student is battling for life in hospital after being allegedly raped and set on fire by a man known to her.

The gruesome incident happened in Etawah, the home district of Mulayam Singh Yadav, chief of the Samajwadi Party which rules Uttar Pradesh.

On Tuesday evening, the police said, a young man known to the student invited her to his home, where he allegedly raped her. When the girl resisted, he allegedly poured kerosene on her and set her on fire.

She was taken first to the village hospital and then shifted to a hospital in Saifai, which has a burns ward, with over 80 per cent burns.

The police say the girl has named the man in her statement and a case has been registered against him and his relatives, though no arrests have been made yet.

The girl's siblings say that she was in love with the man who allegedly raped her. "He called her; she went because she trusted him... She came back running and was on fire," the girl's sister said.

In Pratapgarh, another teen is in hospital with a temporary speech impairment after she was attacked with a blunt object on her face and in her mouth.

Her parents allege that the 16-year-old, a rape survivor, was attacked by the brother of the man accused of raping her earlier this year. They allege that he was attempting to cut off the girl's tongue to stop her from deposing before a magistrate later this month.